The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-10-12
CHEATED BY HIS BROKER.

Last Century Lost All His Treasure.
First of all upon the list of pirates
stands the bold Captain Avary, one OF
the institutors Of NARROWING. Him we
see but dimly, half hidden by the
glamouring mists of legend and tradi-
ton. Others who came afterward out
stripped him far enough in their do
ings, but he stands pro-eminentas the
first of marooners of whom actual his
tory has been handed down to US OF the
present day.
When the English, Dutch and Span
ish entered into an alliance to suppress
buccaneering in the West Indies. Ger
tain worthless of Bristol, in Old En-
gland, fitted out two vessels to assist
in this laudable project; for doubtless
Bristol trade suffered smartly from the
Morgans and the L Olonoises OF that
old time. One of these vessels was
named the Duke, of which a certain
Captain Gibson was the commander
and Avary the mate.
Away they sailed to the West In
dies, and there Avary became i'm.
pressed by the advantages offered by
piracy, and by the amount of good
things that were to be gained by very
little striving.
One night the captain (who was one
of those fellows nightly addicted to
punch), instead of going ashore to sat-
urate himself at the ordinary, had his
drink in his cabin in private. While
he lay snoring away the effects of his
rum in the cabin. Avary and few
other conspirators heaved the anchor
very lcisurely and sailed out of the
barbor of Corunna, and through the
midst of the allied fleet riding at an.
Choir in the darkness.
BY and by, when the morning came.
tho captain was awakened by the
pitching and tossing of the vessel,
the rattle and clatter of the tackle
overhead, and the noise of footsteps
passing and repassing hither and
thither across the deck.
"What's the matterP' bawls the
captain from his berth.
"Nothing," says Avary, coolly.
Something's tho matter with the
ship" says the captain. ''Does she
driver What weather is itp''
"Oh, no." says Avary; 1--WE are at
sea-"
"At seap"
Come, GOMEZ says Avary; "Tn
tell you; you must know that I'm the
captain of the ship now. and you
must be packing from this here cabin.
We are bound to Madagascar, to make
all of our fortunes, and if you're a
mind to ship for the cruise, why, We'll
be glad to have you, if you will be
sober and mind your own business; if
not. there is boat alongside, and I'll
have you set ashore"
The poor half-tipsy captain had no
relish to 60 a-pirating under the COM
mand of his back-sliding mate, so out
of the ship he bundled, and away he
rowed with four or five of the crew,
who, like him, refused to join with
their jolly shipmates.
The rest of them sailed away to the
East Indies. On his way Ayary
picked up couple of like kind with
himself-two sloops off Madagascar.
With these he sailed away to the coast
of India, and for q time his name was
lost in the obscurity of uncertain his
tory. But only for time, for sud-
denly it famed out in blaze of glory.
1t was reported that vessel belong.
ing to the Great Mogul, laden with
treasure and bearing the monarch's
own daughter upon holy pilgrimage
to Mecca (they being Mohammedans).
had fallen in with the pirates, and
after short resistance had been sur
rendered. with the damsel, her court
and all the diamonds, pearls, silk
silver and gold aboard. 1t was
rumored that the Great Mogul, raging
at the insult offered to him through his
own flesh and blood, had threatened to
wipe out of existence the few English
settlements scattered along the coast;
whereat the honorable East India Com
pany was in q pretty state of fuss and
feathers. Rumor, growing with the
telling, has it that Avary is going to
marry the Indian Princess, willy-nilly,
and will turn Rajah and eschew piracy
us indecent As for the treasure it.
self, there is no end to the extent to
which it grew MS it passed from mouth
to mouth.
Cracking the nut of romance ana
exaggeration, we come to the kernel
of the story-that Avary did fall in
with an Indian vessel laden with great
treasure (and possibly with the Mo.
gul's daughter), which he captured,
and thereby gained vast prize.
Having concluded that he had earned
enough money by the trade he had un-
dertaken, he determined to retire
and live decently for the rest of his
life upon what he had already
gained.
At first Avary had q great part of !
mind to settle at Boston, in Massachu
sets, and had that little town bee
one whit less bleak and forbidding, i
might have had the honor of being
tl,n ho, IS